Distinction Between The Self & The Not-Self — 5
Basic Means for Knowledge: Freedom from Pride, Deceit, etc.
To achieve the goal of realizing God progressively as the Witness, the Permitter, the Supporter, the Experiencer, and finally as the Supreme Lord, the firm foundation of moral sādhanā is a sine qua non. We should discern between truth and untruth and follow truth. We should discern between the essential and the non-essential and stick to the essential. We should throw away the shell and keep the pearl. This is how we should begin our quest.
In this context, I am reminded of Jesus' crucifixion. While he was being crucified, words came to his lips, 'O God! Why are they tormenting me?' But he immediately collected himself and said, 'Thy will be done, Lord. Forgive them, for they know not what they do.' This example of Christ has a profound significance. It shows the extent to which the Self should be dissociated from body. Christ's life shows how far we should and could progress. Here, a point has been reached where the body has dropped down like a shell. Whenever I think of disengaging the soul from the body, Christ's life stands before my eyes as a perfect example. It shows how there could be complete dissociation from the body, how the link with the body could be almost severed.
Without the power to discern between truth and untruth, we cannot distinguish between the body and the Self. This discrimination, this knowledge should become part of our being. We associate jnana (knowledge) with knowing, but knowing through reason only does not lead to true knowledge. Eating does not mean stuffing the mouth with food. Food should be properly chewed and it should get digested and converted into blood running through the veins. Only then the action of eating is complete in the true sense. Likewise, intellectual understanding is not enough; knowledge should be fully assimilated; it should become part of our being and should get reflected through every action of ours.
The Lord has given a beautiful definition of knowledge (Jnana) in the Thirteenth Chapter. The attributes of knowledge are similar to those of sthitaprajna. The Lord has enumerated twenty attributes including humility, freedom from deceit, non-violence, uprightness and forgiveness. The Lord has not only declared that these attributes constitute knowledge; He has also said that whatever is opposite of these constitutes ignorance. Knowledge means the sādhanā done in its pursuit. Socrates used to say, 'Virtue is knowledge.' The end and the means are identical.
Although the Gita mentions twenty attributes, Jnanadeva has reduced them to eighteen. He has written on them with rare earnestness. The Gita contains only five verses listing these attributes, but Jnanadeva has written seven hundred verses on them. He was eager that these attributes should permeate the society and the glory of the Lord as Truth should shine throughout the society. He has put all his experience in the elucidation of these attributes. Marathi-speaking people will always be indebted to Jnanadeva for this. He was a personification of these attributes. His empathy for all the creatures was so great that when a buffalo was whipped, marks of the lashes were seen on Jnanadeva's back. Jnaneshwari, his commentary on the Gita, emerged out of such a compassionate heart. The essence of this is that all of us should go on rising higher and higher, dissociating body from the Self and trying to make the life divine, to fill our being with God.
[To be continued]
[Reproduced with kind permission of Paramdham Publication, Pavnar, from Chapter 13 of 'Talks on The Gita' by Sant Vinoba Bhave, 16th edition, January 2005]
Our history is full of incidents in which the lustful husbands are brought on the righteous path by the prudence of their better halves. In the Maharashtra of the seventeenth century, the fragile Maratha Empire, on the verge of disintegration, was saved by Shambhaji's wife, Yeshubai. She turned this lethargic prince into an ardent warrior. She supported and motivated him, taught him to differentiate between the right and the wrong and reminded him of the high ideals of his father. She transformed his very personality. Even when he was captured by Aurangzeb, he did not convert to Islam, in spite of all the torture. Consequently, he was assassinated.
However, Yeshubai was still relentless. She declared Rajaram, her brother-in-law, as the Maratha chief. She was imprisoned at Delhi for sixteen years. But, she continued guiding Rajaram by sending messages and helped him to become the 'Chatrapati'. She was released in 1719 and took her last breath in her own independent state at the age of seventy.
"There is no passion to be found playing small — in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." — Nelson Mandela
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." — Nelson Mandela